The New Dark Age

22 December 2011 — Information Clearing House

Pakistan Needs to Declare Its Independence
By Yasmeen Ali
Pakistan lies ravaged, with her economy destroyed, thanks to the country’s deep involvement in the “War on Terror.” http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30055.htm

Iran and Syria in Imperial Crosshairs
By Iftekhar A. Khan
Unfortunately, the 22-member Arab League is playing a leading role in the hostilities orchestrated by the West against the two Muslim states. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30053.htm

The Worst Case For War with Iran
By Stephen M. Walt
If you’d like to read a textbook example of war-mongering disguised as “analysis,” I recommend Matthew Kroenig’s forthcoming article in Foreign Affairs, titled “Time to Attack Iran: Why a Strike Is the Least Bad Option.” http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30052.htm

Imperial Efforts to Control the Middle East
The ‘Arab Spring’ And The West: Seven Lessons From History
By Seumas Milne
 Carved into artificial states after the first world war, it’s been bombed and occupied – by the US, Israel, Britain and France – and locked down with US bases and western-backed tyrannies. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30059.htm

Are We Living in a Fool’s Paradise?
May You Live In Interesting Times
By William Bowles
 Are all of us, including the left, reacting to an entirely engineered reality, fed to us via an all-embracing media?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30060.htm

Sheldon Adelson: The Deep Pockets Behind Newt Gingrich
By Eli Clifton
Adelson’s importance stems from his close friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ownership of Israel HaYom, a free daily newspaper which supports Netanyahu’s Likud party. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30050.htm

Pvt. Manning and Imperative of Truth
By Ray McGovern
What he had become witness to was the inevitable result of aggressive war, which the post-World War II Nuremberg Tribunal called the “supreme international crime,” http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30054.htm

Bill Authorizes Rendition of Citizens Living On U.S. Soil to Other Countries for Torture
By Washington’s Blog
The Founding Fathers would not recognize this nation as America. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30051.htm

Tarek Mehanna: Victimized by Racist Injustice
By Stephen Lendman
Post-9/11, Mehanna is one of hundreds of Muslim Americans victimized, vilified, and persecuted for their faith, ethnicity, prominence, activism, and at times charity.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30058.htm

Almost 33% in U.S. Are Arrested by Age 23, Study Finds
By Erica Goode
By age 23, almost a third of Americans have been arrested for a crime, according to a new study that researchers say is a measure of growing exposure to the criminal justice system in everyday life. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30057.htm

In Case You Missed It
Torture Inc. Americas Brutal Prisons
By Deborah Davies
Savaged by dogs, Electrocuted With Cattle Prods, Burned By Toxic Chemicals, Does such barbaric abuse inside U.S. jails explain the horrors that were committed in Iraq?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8451.htm

They Don’t Shoot Rightwingers, Do They?
What If Occupiers Armed Themselves?
By Brian J. Foley
I’m glad police didn’t stomp on the Tea Party. Even ill-informed, inane, racist protests should be permitted.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30056.htm

Fourteen bomb blasts in Baghdad kill 63 and injure dozens: Most of the violence appeared to hit Shiite neighbourhoods although some Sunni areas were also targeted.: – Civilians were targeted in bombings across Baghdad that killed 57 people amid an escalation of political infighting in Iraq that has followed the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country. http://bit.ly/tfzLE4

Entire Family Of Anti-al Qaeda Militia Murdered In Iraq: A family active in the fight against Al Qaeda in eastern Iraq has been murdered. An entire family of five, father, mother, two daughters and a son, were shot dead at their home in Baquba, capital of Diyala province. http://bit.ly/rwwR3m

Iraq’s al-Maliki rebuffs Biden, signals move to Shiite rule: Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signaled Wednesday that he’s ready to gradually drop his key partner party, the largely Sunni Iraqiya bloc, and move toward a government run by the country’s Shiite majority at the expense of minority Sunnis and Kurds. 
http://www.adn.com/2011/12/20/2228503/iraqs-al-maliki-rebuffs-biden.html

Iraqi VP: Baghdad trial ‘not realistic’: Tariq al-Hashimi says he will only stand trial in Kurdish region as prime minister calls for his return to Baghdad. 
http://bit.ly/sf6ljL

US troops will stay in Iraq , Maliki:
Iraqi Premier Nouri al- Maliki said that 700 US trainers will work to train Iraqi forces, adding that the number of US embassy in Baghdad will not exceed 2000. 
http://bit.ly/vlZ982

11 Killed in Syria Ahead of Arab League Team Arrival: Syria’s death toll mounted on Thursday, ahead of the arrival of an advance team of Arab League observers. 
http://bit.ly/tc4iDi

Syria’s rebel fighters close in on capital as world denounces regime bloodshed: SYRIAN rebel troops have been fighting running battles with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad just 10 kilometres from the centre of the capital, Damascus. 
http://bit.ly/tH6Hv5

Arab League observers head to Syria: The task of the monitoring mission is to assess the real situation in the country. In particular, mission members will investigate who is responsible for civilian deaths: whether members of the military and interior minister employees or armed militants, including foreigners, as the Syrian authorities claim. 
http://en.rian.ru/world/20111222/170431722.html

Syria: Navy and Air Force Conduct Live Fire Maneuvers: The demonstration was aimed at testing the combat capability and readiness of the Air Force and Air Defense to confront any possible aggression that might target Syria’s land and airspace 
http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2011/12/21/389661.htm

Six al-Qaida suspects killed in south Yemen violence: Six Al-Qaeda suspects were killed overnight during shelling and clashes in the restive southern Yemeni province of Abyan, a local official said on Thursday. http://bit.ly/vJXr6C

Yemen power transfer due on Friday:
The UN envoy to Yemen says he expects President Abdullah Ali Saleh to honour a deal by officially transferring power to his vice president on Friday and then leave the country for medical treatment. 
http://bit.ly/uFg1O9

NATO: service member killed in Afghanistan:
NATO says one of its service members has been killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan. 
http://bit.ly/uTRmST

Karzai Sacks Human Rights Commissioner: Nader Naderi, Human Rights Commissioner, Fahim Hakim, Mawlawi Ghulam Mohammad Gharib and two other members of the commission were sacked by the president over publishing a report about violation of human rights by some high ranking government officials and disagreements between the commission and the government 
http://bit.ly/t31x2X

US concedes responsiblity for Nato airstrike : The US has conceded for the first time it bears significant responsibility for a Nato airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, but stopped short of the apology that would help repair relations with its ally. 
http://tgr.ph/v3zGRk

Drone attack orphaned whole village, says Waziristan resident: Lawyer Shahzad Akbar, acting on behalf of Noor Khan, has sent a legal notice to British Foreign Secretary William Hague, to question the role of Britain in providing intelligence to the CIA-backed drone campaign. 
http://bit.ly/rM8MvA

PM to demand US cease drone strikes: Rhetoric from Pakistan politicians about territorial integrity has gone on for some time. Actual changes on the ground could materialise soon, however, as Pakistan seeks to push for an end to drone strikes and other perceived ‘violations’ of sovereignty 
http://bit.ly/u9EVVg

Pakistan PM hits out at army amid coup fears: Pakistan’s embattled Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Thursday said conspirators were plotting to bring down his government and delivered an unprecedented tirade against the powerful military. 
http://yhoo.it/uzUA9m

No control over operations of Army, ISI: govt: In a late night development on Wednesday which added yet another twist to the memo scandal, the federal government, through the Ministry of Defence, conceded before the Supreme Court that it had no operational control over the armed forces as well as the Inter-Services Intelligence 
http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/22/no-control-over-operations-of-army-isi-govt.html

US military ‘ready to engage in a conflict with Iran’: Gen Dempsey said he had been quietly leading behind the scenes preparations for an attack against Tehran but said a war with the nation would be a “tragedy”. 
http://tgr.ph/tzkVcE

Nuclear sanctions won’t affect Iran economy, Russia official says: Foreign Ministry spokesman says Russia opposed to any anti-Iran move by the international community. 
http://bit.ly/tu63FL

Univision promoting war with Iran?: In Univision documentary it is being alleged that Iran, Venezuela and Cuba are joining forces to plan attacks on the United States. 
http://bit.ly/rrjwxS

Hamas moves to join Palestine Liberation Organization:
Hamas has moved to join the Palestine Liberation Organization – a key step toward unifying the long-divided Palestinian leadership, the Associated Press reported on Thursday. http://bit.ly/vGtY3s

Israel officials: Security Council criticism on West Bank violence ‘disgusting’: Foreign Ministry sources describe outrage in wake of what they call a European-led assault on Israel, interference in Israel’s internal affairs. 
http://bit.ly/rxR8LR

US Pays Off Jordan:
U.S. to provide Jordan with 660 million dollars in “aid” in 2012: The United States will provide Jordan with 660 million U.S. dollars in 2012 as economic and military assistance, Jordan’s ministry of planning and international cooperation said Tuesday. 
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90777/7683657.html

NATO Forced to Admit Airstrikes Killed Dozens of Libyan Civilians, Contradicting Initial Denials: “We only saw a small sampling of the strike sites that may have been affected. So the death toll is probably much larger,” Chivers says. 
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/22/nato_forced_to_admit_airstrikes_killed

‘Blue bra girl’ atrocity: Egyptian military police more than brutal (VIDEO): Witnesses said they beat and gave electric shocks to men and women dragged into detention, many of them held in the nearby parliament and cabinet buildings. 
http://rt.com/news/egyptian-military-cruelty-beating-079/

US Playing a Dangerous Asia-Pacific Game?: In Beijing, Washington’s renewed interest in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia will almost certainly be used to justify further defense expenditure and stepped-up diplomatic efforts to erode US influence where possible 
http://bit.ly/upgI9B

Bradley Manning defence calls just two witnesses: Lawyers for alleged Wikileaks source Bradley Manning have rested their case after calling just two witnesses, on day six of his pre-trial hearing. 
http://bit.ly/skYVCA

CIA won’t disclose involvement in crackdowns on Occupy Wall Street: Many of the occupiers suspect the CIA has been aiding local law enforcement to try to thwart the movement. The Partnership for Civil Justice filed a Freedom of Information Act request to try to see if the CIA was involved in the OWS crackdowns, but the PCJF was denied the information. Is the CIA covering up evidence? 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh0BSF3kzgQ&feature=player_embedded

Ron Paul Walks Out Of Interview After Facing Questions About Racist Content In Newsletter: Video – Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-TX) emergence as the front-runner in the Iowa GOP primary is bringing new scrutiny on Paul’s newsletters from the 1980s and 1990s. 
http://bit.ly/rVvVJK

Did Gingrich bend campaign laws with his ‘independent’ committee?: Newt Gingrich helped bankroll his resurrection from a has-been to a Republican presidential frontrunner by exploiting a gap in federal campaign finance laws to create a political money machine that raised $54 million over five years.
http://bit.ly/toxsjE